Happy Birthday Maggie

Today is my oldest daughter's birthday. I was only 18 when she was born so she and I did alot of growing up together. I am so very proud of her. Maggie is a very loving, caring, understanding person. She takes all the facts before assuming anything. She is a devoted wife to a absolutely wonderful guy. She is a awesome mom to 2 fantastic daughters. She manages the office for her boss while doing tons of her own workload and still finds time to do 2 other side jobs. Maggie and her family do wild animal rescue and at the moment are caring for 5 baby raccoons till they are old enough and able to be released. She volunteers at the Boys and Girls club, teaching photography and computer. I love the way she has her life all planned out. She can tell you where they plan on going on vacation in 5 years! She is very tenderhearted and will no longer eat meat because she followed behind a truck carrying chickens to be butchered. It breaks her heart for anyone or anything to be hurt. Never play smarter than a 5th grader, trivia , or any other knowledge game with her unless you want to really look dumb! She is a very talented artist and photographer. Not only is she my #1 daughter she is my friend. Maggie have a wonderful day and we will celebrate Friday. Happy Birthday!

We Got Rain!!

Weatherman said we had a 50% chance of thunderstorms today and they arrived this afternoon. We got the feeding, milking and watering done early this morning. Came in for breakfast then went back out to rake the dog pen and Killer's pen. The heat factor yesterday was 101F and today it was getting close to that so we went to the neighbors pool after delivering some eggs. The kids swam and I visited with Vicki and then listened to a book on tape. After swimming I took the kids to CiCi's Pizza where we all enjoyed the salad bar and pizza buffet. On the way home it started storming and we sure were glad to see those rain drops! Since it was storming I gave each of the kids a book and told them to read for awhile. Julie was reading a Trixie Belden mystery and got sleepy. Zack was reading Ghost Stories of North Carolina and really got into his book. We did the evening chores in the rain but it was nice. They are watching a movie and I am cooking supper. Finally able to pick some squash to cook. I diced squash, potatoes,onion and saute in olive oil with minced garlic and parsley. I could eat this by itself but we are having pinto beans, cornbread and chicken. Tonight we will settle down with movies and books and listen to the wonderful sound of rain. Have a great weekend!

Reward For Cleaning the Pens

edited to add I am blessed to have a nice neighbor with a nice pool!

This and That

I will be back off and on during the day to add little tidbits but wanted to share a new blog with you now. I found this blog last week and was hooked right away! I even read all her archives before leaving the blog. When you check it out make sure you aren't in a hurry. So pop on over to Eyes of Wonder and tell her Peggy sent you. Will be back in a short while with photos. The grands are raking the chicken pen, cleaning and filling the duck and geese ponds. I am sure there will be lots of photos moments with these two!

With a promise of a nice swim after chores Zack and Julie got busy raking the pens while I emptied, cleaned and filled the ducks and geese pools

The geese couldn't wait to take baths but the ducks wanted to finish their naps before getting in their pond.

We had fun at the flea market but Zack really didn't want to stand that close to his sister.

Lady, Tramp and Sheba think they should be allowed to have a kid for a "pet" all the time! They enjoy the attention and all the walks.Mom whats a bath?Bath?? I want to play in the mud!

After the much needed shower of rain we picked more tomatoes off the vines.

So far only the grands have enjoyed the hammock. I have plans to enjoy one evening real soon.

Thank You Connie!

What a nice surprise I had today. Connie sent me a email asking me to check her blog. I always love going to her blog everyday and today was especially nice. Connie gave me a award!

I am a Rockin' Girl Blogger! Connie said such sweet and kind things about me. I can never be as kind, caring, and devoted friend as she is to everyone but Connie thank you so much for the special award and the kind things you had to say.

Now I get the awesome task of picking 5 Rockin' Girls! Here are my picks:

Mary has 6 children and a job but still has time for her friends. Don't think the lady knows the word no when asked to do something. She makes me laugh with the things her kids have been up to. Makes me think when she shares articles she has read and tires me out when she posts what she has done that day.

Marci who I just love visiting each day to see the beautiful photos and read about her day on the farm. She has such a love of animals and the simple life that I get so disappointed that there isn't more to read!

Kali is such a kind and dear person! She finds joy in things that I have taken for granted. She makes me stop and look at things in a different light.

Melissa is where I visit to get my faith builder. She gives me new thought on keeping my faith and trusting God more to take care of things.

Robyn is one of the first blogs I read when I started blogging. We fast became friends. I love reading her posts each day. She has taught me about crystals, fairies, and lots of other wonderful things.

So ladies post your award and pick your five rockin girl bloggers! Thanks again Connie!!!

Count Your Blessings Monday

Marcia has started a count your blessings Monday. I am sure we all have many blessings to be thankful for today. What are yours?
1. being able to spend time with the grandchildren
2. beautiful day
3. having grandchildren here to talk to while we share a meal
4. vacation bible school for the grandchildren
5. the animals
6. my health

No photos but we had a busy day. Zack and Julie helped me feed and milk this morning. I am going to have to lock Sammi in her stall at night. Robyn and Dan are robbing her milk! I go to milk each morning and get about 2 quarts from Diva (I go before daylight so I can milk her before the boys get to her) and don't even get a cupful from Sammi. Diva is only letting the boys nurse a little then pushes them away. Auntie Sammi will just stand still forever if they want to nurse her. So tonight Sammi is getting locked away from the boys so I can at least have her morning milk before they get to her. Diva has gone back to her normal Diva self. If she is through eating then I am through milking according to her rules. I end up having to pen her in the corner of her stall and finish milking her out while she is putting on a act of not being able to breathe! I fell for that when I first got her but she needs a new trick. The boys are getting so tall! They still don't want to be around me very much as they are afraid I will hurt them. They haven't forgotten the disbudding yet. After morning chores I took the kids to the flea market. We didn't find any treasures though. We came home and gave the animals a treat and fresh water then went next door so they could swim for awhile. After a fun afternoon of swimming they got ready for vacation bible school. It started tonight and they seemed to have had a good time when I picked them up. Think they are going to enjoy being busy this week. I will post pics of the Diva's babies tomorrow. We will be cleaning the goat pen and I am sure they will be into everything while we are raking. Hope you had a great weekend and your week is filled to the brim with blessings

It has been a sad day for me. Megan and Brian were suppose to come down yesterday for the weekend and take Quintin and Gabby home. They were having problems with their water and Brian worked on it all day and most of the evening. Megan called and said since she had to work Sunday night they would just meet me halfway today to pick up the kids. Gabby was ready to go home as she was missing her mom. Quintin didn't want to go home yet. He ask me last night to wake him up early this morning so he could play one last time before going home. I woke him up at 6 and he and Zake played till 8. When I had the van packed and told them it was time to go he asked me to wait. He went over to the goat pen and hugged each goat and called their name and told them bye. He told all the chickens, geese, ducks and bunnies bye. He went over to the dog pen and told each one of them bye. By that time I was a basket case. I was crying like a baby. Didn't help much that he came over and hugged me and told me when he grew up he was coming to live with me. I so wasn't ready for them to go home. When Megan and Brian were in the army Quintin and Gabby stayed with us several months when they were in the field or deployed. They were 3 and 2 yrs old at the time. I gave Quintin his musical bear he slept with back then and he was happy to get a memory. He doesn't want grandma getting rid of any memories! Guess getting older makes me clingy. But on a brighter note I have Zack and Julie here and though they miss their cousins they are outside playing in the sprinkler and having a good time. 2 more weeks and they will have more cousins to play with. Hope your weekend is a fun and blessed one.

And Then There Were Two

Wayne went home yesterday. Will went home today. Quintin and Gabby go home tomorrow. That leaves Zack and Julie as they are staying a month. Their cousins Kristine and Raigun will be coming July 6th so they don't have long to wait for playmates.We spent the day raking chicken and goat pens, cleaning out rabbit cages. For a reward for the hard work we went to CiCi's Pizza for lunch and swimming this evening before dinner. Everyone is settled down watching a movie and I am going to work on filling soap orders and getting a couple of packages for friends ready for mail. I get caught up on somethings only to get behind in others but it sure is nice having the grands visiting and helping. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Such a Hard Life

Ending the day with a swim should make for some tired, sleepy kids!

Today the grands slept in till 9am. That seemed late enough to me so I started making noise to wake them up. After washing faces, brushing teeth, breakfast they had to go water all the animals. I left that chore for them when I went out to milk and feed at 5:45am. They then decided to play a game of freeze tag, then hide n seek, moved on to bike riding and then the boys played ball while the girls made soap. We jumped in the van to haul off the trash and stop at the store. They also helped me deliver eggs to a customer. Everyone is resting after their lunch while they watch a movie. We have to take Wayne partway home today. His step brother is meeting us and taking him home. Julie and Zack are going to miss all their cousins next week when its just them and me around the homestead. Edited to add how the grands ended their day. Think they will sleep well tonight!

The girls didn't end up sleeping outside the other night, but its grandma's fault. I went out to check on them and it was so hot and humid I made them come inside. They might try it tonight if its cooler.
Wayne was the only one that got to go down the master blaster yesterday. You had to be so tall to go and the others were an inch or two too short.

Mom and Dads wanted to see how tall the slide was the kids had to go down. Here is a photo. They also had to climb all those steps carrying the plastic sled that weighed around 20lbs. Julie was smart. She would carry hers till she saw a teenage boy coming up the steps and set hers down making the boy feel sorry for her and carry it. Today its raining so I was brave or crazy and took 6 kids with me to walmart along with my elderly neighbor Fran. Now the boys are playing video games and the girls are outside playing on the porch. I am doing the never ending laundry. Wayne goes home tomorrow. Will goes home Friday, Quintin and Gabby go home Saturday or Sunday. Zack and Julie are here for a month. Kristine, Raigun, Woody, Hope, and Justin will be coming sometime next month for a visit. Wayne wants to come back when Woody is here as they are the same age. Don't think I will have to worry about being lonely this summer. Time to fold some clothes so have a great day and count those blessings. They really are blessings in each day.

Afternoon at Fantasy Lake

Is the reward you get after spending the morning raking and shoveling poo from the chicken pen. Think it was a fair trade.

Quintin getting ready to go off the red slide

Julie coming down the banana slide

Gabby coming down the banana slide

Wayne getting ready to go down lighting slide

Quintin coming down lighting slide

Gabby at the bottom of lighting slide

Julie made it to the bottom of lighting with a smile.

Zack says it was a piece of cake coming down lighting.

Take your eyes off the girl and you will see Will at the bottom of banana slide. Will wasn't able to go down lighting slide as you have to be able to carry the sled you ride up all those steps and it was too heavy. I don't see how the other kids carried theirs up 3 flights of steps 7 or 8 times!

Keeping my eyes on 6 kids was alot of work! When called Will answered me from the swimming section of the lake. He was having fun swimming back and forth to the dock.

Wayne and Will doing one last ride down the banana
Ending the day with Zack on the Tarzan rope swinging upside down before diving into the water. Everyone is tired but happy and I expect it will be a early night for all! Sorry I haven't commented on many blogs. I am trying to visit a few each time I am at the computer so I can keep up with everyone. Will comment when things slow down around the homestead.